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LaLiga Santander African MVP award is back with some of the continent's biggest stars as its front runners.
The race for LaLiga Santander African MVP award continues to pick up steam as the continent’s finest talents produce performances of the highest calibre for both club and country.
As LaLiga Santander’s popularity continues to grow across Africa, so too has the importance of the continent’s players to their clubs in the Spanish top flight, and the league has decided to reward its best African players with the recognition that they deserve.
While journalists from all over Africa vote for the LaLiga Santander Mid Season African Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the 2022/23 season, the public will also get a chance to vote for the LaLiga Santander African MVP for the entire 2022/23 season.
The 2021/22 season award was claimed by Sevilla’s Yassine “Bono” Bounou who was outstanding for Sevilla, helping them to a top-four finish while also claiming the Zamora trophy as LaLiga Santander’s best goalkeeper.
The Contenders for LaLiga Santander African MVP award
Last season’s LaLiga Santander African MVP winner Yassine Bounou is again a contender for this season’s award after more sensational performances, especially for the Moroccan national team at the World Cup.
The Sevilla goalkeeper kept three cleansheets and was the penalty hero in the round of 16 as Morocco made it all the way to the semifinals of the World Cup, a first for an African nation.
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Like Bono, Youssouf En Nesyri has drawn plaudits for his performances with the Moroccan national team. The Sevilla forward hit a hat trick in the Copa del Rey against Linares and was the club’s top scorer in the Champions League with two goals in three starts, but it was for Morocco that he was indeed in his element.
The powerful forward scored twice at the World Cup, first with a winner against Canada in the group stage and then with the iconic header against Portugal, which saw the Atlas Lions reach the semifinals for the first time.
Still in the city of Seville, Real Betis’ Senegalese full-back Youssouf Sabaly has also earned praise for his performances at right-back for both club and country, and he is not the only African full-back who has taken La Liga by storm this season.
Atletico Madrid's Mozambican left-back Reinildo Mandava has been a stalwart for Los Colchoneros, making 17 La Liga starts and solidifying his position as Diego Simeone's first choice and one of the league's top full-backs this season.
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Mandava, who became the first player from Mozambique to play for Atletico after a move from Lille, has flown his nation’s flag high at the Citiva Metropolitano with some outstanding displays.
Atletico Madrid is also home to another African star who has impressed in LaLiga, in the person of Central African Republic's Geoffrey Kondogbia.
The 29-year-old midfielder who joined Atletico from Valencia has been a dominant presence in Simeone’s midfield this season, and his importance to the team is underlined by their 80% win ratio in LaLiga games where Kondogbia plays.
Kondogbia is a very familiar name to fans of LaLiga having played at three Spanish clubs while racking up 183 LaLiga appearances, but even his remarkable continuity in the league is overshadowed by Getafe’s Togolese captain Djene Dakonam, who has made 189 league appearances.
Djene has been with Getafe since 2017 and has quickly become an icon at the Madrid-based club with a series of dependably solid performances at the heart of the Azulones’ defence.
As with most other seasons. Djene has been a linchpin in Getafe’s defence and has played over 1000 minutes for the club, starting every game that he has been available for.
Djene became the first African player to be named captain of a LaLiga side ahead of the 2020/21 season and has lived up to the expectations of wearing the armband ever since, endearing himself even more to the Getafe faithful.
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Another African player in LaLiga backed by teeming supporters is Athletic Bilbao’s Ghanaian forward Inaki Williams. The Bilbao-born club legend is one of Bilbao’s most acclaimed players and currently holds the record for the most consecutive games played in LaLiga history with 251 games in a row played for Bilbao.
Inaki is Bilbao’s joint top scorer in the 2022/23 LaLiga season and has contributed directly to six league goals for the club this season.
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His fine form for Bilbao made him an obvious pick for Ghana’s Black Stars going into the 2022 FIFA World Cup after he became eligible to play for them earlier that same year.
“Kweku” as he was nicknamed by his international teammates, went on to star in all three of Ghana’s group games in Qatar as they narrowly missed out on a round of 16 berth.
One of Inaki’s Ghanaian teammates, Joseph Aidoo, has also starred in the Spanish top flight for Celta Vigo.
Aidoo has played every minute in LaLiga for Celta and has led their valiant efforts to avoid relegation with some impressive defensive displays and a crucial equaliser against Getafe to boot.
Other African players who have put in notable performances for their LaLiga clubs include Villarreal’s duo of Senegal international Nicholas Jackson and Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze who have had a hand in seven of the Yellow Submarines’ 21 league goals that have propelled them to fifth position with a chance to qualify for European football next season.
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Senegal’s Pathe Ciss, who played three of the Teranga Lions’ four World Cup matches, has also been a dependable member of the Rayo Vallecano side that has stunned LaLiga this season and are only five points off fourth position.
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As expected, the LaLiga African MVP award will go down to the wire, with some of Africa’s biggest talents vying for the coveted award.
LaLiga’s Southern Africa Managing Director, Marcos Pelegrin was pointed out the significance of the award, saying, “We are excited about the wide array of African players from so many different countries who have excelled and made their mark on LaLiga Santander this season.
“The African MVP Award competition has exceeded all our expectations in its first year and is set to be even bigger this season, as African football fans get the chance to engage LaLiga and vote for their standout players of the season.”
Voting has also commenced for the LaLiga African mid-season MVP award and members of the public can vote here.
Voting for the end of the season award will commence when the season draws to a close.
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